Compare Mauritius (2007) - Bahamas, The (2005)

Compare Mauritius (2007) z Bahamas, The (2005)

	Mauritius (2007)	Bahamas, The (2005)

Administrative divisions	9 districts and 3 dependencies; Agalega Islands, Black River, Cargados Carajos Shoals, Flacq, Grand Port, Moka, Pamplemousses, Plaines Wilhems, Port Louis, Riviere du Rempart, Rodrigues, Savanne	21 districts; Acklins and Crooked Islands, Bimini, Cat Island, Exuma, Freeport, Fresh Creek, Governor's Harbour, Green Turtle Cay, Harbour Island, High Rock, Inagua, Kemps Bay, Long Island, Marsh Harbour, Mayaguana, New Providence, Nichollstown and Berry Islands, Ragged Island, Rock Sound, Sandy Point, San Salvador and Rum Cay
Age structure	0-14 years: 23.5% (male 147,808/female 146,270) 15-64 years: 69.8% (male 436,043/female 437,441) 65 years and over: 6.7% (male 32,475/female 50,845) (2007 est.)	0-14 years: 27.9% (male 42,142/female 42,096) 15-64 years: 65.9% (male 97,865/female 101,047) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 7,616/female 11,024) (2005 est.)
Agriculture - products	sugarcane, tea, corn, potatoes, bananas, pulses; cattle, goats; fish	citrus, vegetables; poultry
Airports	5 (2007)	63 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 2 over 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2007)	total: 29 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 1 (2007)	total: 34 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 21 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 2,040 sq km land: 2,030 sq km water: 10 sq km note: includes Agalega Islands, Cargados Carajos Shoals (Saint Brandon), and Rodrigues	total: 13,940 sq km land: 10,070 sq km water: 3,870 sq km
Area - comparative	almost 11 times the size of Washington, DC	slightly smaller than Connecticut
Background	Although known to Arab and Malay sailors as early as the 10th century, Mauritius was first explored by the Portuguese in 1505; it was subsequently held by the Dutch, French, and British before independence was attained in 1968. A stable democracy with regular free elections and a positive human rights record, the country has attracted considerable foreign investment and has earned one of Africa's highest per capita incomes. Recent poor weather and declining sugar prices have slowed economic growth, leading to some protests over standards of living in the Creole community.	Arawak Indians inhabited the islands when Christopher Columbus first set foot in the New World on San Salvador in 1492. British settlement of the islands began in 1647; the islands became a colony in 1783. Since attaining independence from the UK in 1973, The Bahamas have prospered through tourism and international banking and investment management. Because of its geography, the country is a major transshipment point for illegal drugs, particularly shipments to the US, and its territory is used for smuggling illegal migrants into the US.
Birth rate	15.26 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)	17.87 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $1.236 billion expenditures: $1.562 billion; including capital expenditures of $NA (2006 est.)	revenues: $1 billion expenditures: $1 billion, including capital expenditures of $106.7 million (FY03/04)
Capital	name: Port Louis geographic coordinates: 20 09 S, 57 29 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)	Nassau
Climate	tropical, modified by southeast trade winds; warm, dry winter (May to November); hot, wet, humid summer (November to May)	tropical marine; moderated by warm waters of Gulf Stream
Coastline	177 km	3,542 km
Constitution	12 March 1968; amended 12 March 1992	10 July 1973
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Mauritius conventional short form: Mauritius local long form: Republic of Mauritius local short form: Mauritius	conventional long form: Commonwealth of The Bahamas conventional short form: The Bahamas
Death rate	6.88 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)	8.97 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$2.419 billion (2006 est.)	$308.5 million (2002)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador John PRICE embassy: 4th Floor, Rogers House, John Kennedy Street, Port Louis mailing address: international mail: P. O. Box 544, Port Louis; US mail: American Embassy, Port Louis, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2450 telephone: [230] 202-4400 FAX: [230] 208-9534	chief of mission: Ambassador John D. ROOD embassy: 42 Queen Street, Nassau mailing address: local or express mail address: P. O. Box N-8197, Nassau; Department of State, 3370 Nassau Place, Washington, DC 20521-3370 telephone: [1] (242) 322-1181, 328-2206 (after hours) FAX: [1] (242) 356-0222
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Usha JEETAH chancery: 4301 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 441, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 244-1491, 1492 FAX: [1] (202) 966-0983	chief of mission: Ambassador Joshua SEARS chancery: 2220 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 319-2660 FAX: [1] (202) 319-2668 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York
Disputes - international	Mauritius claims the Chagos Archipelago (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory), and its former inhabitants, who reside chiefly in Mauritius; claims French-administered Tromelin Island	have not been able to agree on the alignment of a maritime boundary with the US; continues to monitor and interdict Haitian refugees fleeing economic privation and political instability
Economic aid - recipient	$31.93 million (2005)	$9.8 million (1995)
Economy - overview	Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been in the order of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in more equitable income distribution, increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much-improved infrastructure. Sugarcane is grown on about 90% of the cultivated land area and accounts for 25% of export earnings. The government's development strategy centers on expanding local financial institutions and building a domestic information telecommunications industry. Mauritius has attracted more than 9,000 offshore entities, many aimed at commerce in India and South Africa, and investment in the banking sector alone has reached over $1 billion. Mauritius, with its strong textile sector, has been well poised to take advantage of the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).	The Bahamas is a stable, developing nation with an economy heavily dependent on tourism and offshore banking. Tourism alone accounts for more than 60% of GDP and directly or indirectly employs half of the archipelago's labor force. Steady growth in tourism receipts and a boom in construction of new hotels, resorts, and residences had led to solid GDP growth in recent years, but the slowdown in the US economy and the attacks of 11 September 2001 held back growth in these sectors in 2001-03. Financial services constitute the second-most important sector of the Bahamian economy, accounting for about 15% of GDP. However, since December 2000, when the government enacted new regulations on the financial sector, many international businesses have left The Bahamas. Manufacturing and agriculture together contribute approximately a tenth of GDP and show little growth, despite government incentives aimed at those sectors. Overall growth prospects in the short run rest heavily on the fortunes of the tourism sector, which depends on growth in the US, the source of more than 80% of the visitors. In addition to tourism and banking, the government supports the development of a "third pillar," e-commerce.
Electricity - consumption	1.973 billion kWh (2005)	1.596 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2005)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	2.122 billion kWh (2005)	1.716 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Piton 828 m	lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mount Alvernia, on Cat Island 63 m
Environment - current issues	water pollution, degradation of coral reefs	coral reef decay; solid waste disposal
Environment - international agreements	party to: Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements	party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
Ethnic groups	Indo-Mauritian 68%, Creole 27%, Sino-Mauritian 3%, Franco-Mauritian 2%	black 85%, white 12%, Asian and Hispanic 3%
Exchange rates	Mauritian rupees per US dollar - 31.656 (2006), 29.496 (2005), 27.499 (2004), 27.902 (2003), 29.962 (2002)	Bahamian dollars per US dollar - 1 (2004), 1 (2003), 1 (2002), 1 (2001), 1 (2000)
Executive branch	chief of state: President Sir Anerood JUGNAUTH (since 7 October 2003); Vice President Abdool Raouf BUNDHUN (since 25 February 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM (since 5 July 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president and vice president elected by the National Assembly for five-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 25 February 2002 (next to be held in 2007); prime minister and deputy prime minister appointed by the president, responsible to the National Assembly election results: Karl OFFMANN elected president and Raouf BUNDHUN elected vice president; percent of vote by the National Assembly - NA%; note - Karl OFFMANN stepped down on 30 September 2003	chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dame Ivy DUMONT (since NA May 2002) head of government: Prime Minister Perry CHRISTIE (since 3 May 2002) and Deputy Prime Minister Cynthia PRATT (since 7 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the prime minister's recommendation elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister
Exports	NA bbl/day	transhipments of 29,000 bbl/day (2003)
Exports - commodities	clothing and textiles, sugar, cut flowers, molasses	mineral products and salt, animal products, rum, chemicals; fruit and vegetables
Exports - partners	UK 32.5%, France 15.1%, UAE 11.4%, US 8.3%, Madagascar 4.8% (2006)	US 40.2%, Poland 13.3%, Spain 11.6%, Germany 5.9%, France 4.3% (2004)
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June	1 July - 30 June
Flag description	four equal horizontal bands of red (top), blue, yellow, and green	three equal horizontal bands of aquamarine (top), gold, and aquamarine, with a black equilateral triangle based on the hoist side
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 5.2% industry: 25.2% services: 69.6% (2006 est.)	agriculture: 3% industry: 7% services: 90% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita	-	purchasing power parity - $17,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	5% (2006 est.)	3% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	20 17 S, 57 33 E	24 15 N, 76 00 W
Geography - note	the main island, from which the country derives its name, is of volcanic origin and is almost entirely surrounded by coral reefs	strategic location adjacent to US and Cuba; extensive island chain of which 30 are inhabited
Heliports	-	1 (2004 est.)
Highways	-	total: 2,693 km paved: 1,546 km unpaved: 1,147 km (1999 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: 27% (2000)
Illicit drugs	consumer and transshipment point for heroin from South Asia; small amounts of cannabis produced and consumed locally; significant offshore financial industry creates potential for money laundering, but corruption levels are relatively low and the government appears generally to be committed to regulating its banking industry	transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for US and Europe; offshore financial center
Imports	NA bbl/day	NA
Imports - commodities	manufactured goods, capital equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals	machinery and transport equipment, manufactures, chemicals, mineral fuels; food and live animals
Imports - partners	France 14.3%, India 13.6%, China 8.6%, South Africa 7.3% (2006)	US 22.4%, South Korea 18.9%, Brazil 9.2%, Japan 7.9%, Italy 7.8%, Venezuela 6.6% (2004)
Independence	12 March 1968 (from UK)	10 July 1973 (from UK)
Industrial production growth rate	8% (2000 est.)	NA
Industries	food processing (largely sugar milling), textiles, clothing, mining, chemicals, metal products, transport equipment, nonelectrical machinery, tourism	tourism, banking, cement, oil transshipment, salt, rum, aragonite, pharmaceuticals, spiral-welded steel pipe
Infant mortality rate	total: 14.14 deaths/1,000 live births male: 16.72 deaths/1,000 live births female: 11.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)	total: 25.21 deaths/1,000 live births male: 31.02 deaths/1,000 live births female: 19.28 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	8.9% (2006 est.)	1.2% (year ending September 2004)
International organization participation	ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, InOC, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO	ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IADB, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOM, IOC, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Irrigated land	220 sq km (2003)	NA
Judicial branch	Supreme Court	Supreme Court; Court of Appeal; magistrates courts
Labor force	541,000 (2006 est.)	156,000 (1999)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture and fishing 14%, construction and industry 36%, transportation and communication 7%, trade, restaurants, hotels 16%, finance 3%, other services 24% (1995)	agriculture 5%, industry 5%, tourism 50%, other services 40% (1999 est.)
Land boundaries	0 km	0 km
Land use	arable land: 49.02% permanent crops: 2.94% other: 48.04% (2005)	arable land: 0.8% permanent crops: 0.4% other: 98.8% (2001)
Languages	Creole 80.5%, Bhojpuri 12.1%, French 3.4%, English (official; spoken by less than 1% of the population), other 3.7%, unspecified 0.3% (2000 census)	English (official), Creole (among Haitian immigrants)
Legal system	based on French civil law system with elements of English common law in certain areas; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations	based on English common law
Legislative branch	unicameral National Assembly (70 seats; 62 members elected by popular vote, 8 appointed by the election commission to give representation to various ethnic minorities; to serve five-year terms) elections: last held on 3 July 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - AS 38, MSM/MMM 22, OPR 2; appointed seats - AS 4, MSM/MMM 2, OPR 2	bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (16-member body appointed by the governor general upon the advice of the prime minister and the opposition leader for five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (40 seats; members elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms); the government may dissolve the parliament and call elections at any time elections: last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held by May 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PLP 50.8%, FNM 41.1%, independents 5.2%; seats by party - PLP 29, FNM 7, independents 4
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 72.88 years male: 68.92 years female: 76.9 years (2007 est.)	total population: 65.54 years male: 62.11 years female: 69.04 years (2005 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 84.4% male: 88.4% female: 80.5% (2000 census)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 95.6% male: 94.7% female: 96.5% (2003 est.)
Location	Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar	Caribbean, chain of islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, southeast of Florida, northeast of Cuba
Map references	Political Map of the World	Central America and the Caribbean
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin	territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Merchant marine	total: 5 ships (1000 GRT or over) 19,417 GRT/19,700 DWT by type: bulk carrier 2, passenger/cargo 2, refrigerated cargo 1 foreign-owned: 2 (India 2) (2007)	total: 1,119 by type: barge carrier 2, bulk carrier 183, cargo 259, chemical tanker 54, combination ore/oil 17, container 74, liquefied gas 28, livestock carrier 2, passenger 116, passenger/cargo 40, petroleum tanker 168, refrigerated cargo 130, roll on/roll off 20, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 24 foreign-owned: 968 (Angola 4, Australia 4, Belgium 17, Canada 9, China 3, Croatia 1, Cuba 1, Cyprus 13, Denmark 18, Estonia 1, Finland 7, France 28, Germany 15, Greece 194, Hong Kong 11, Indonesia 2, Ireland 1, Israel 1, Italy 7, Japan 49, Jordan 2, Kenya 1, Latvia 1, Malaysia 12, Monaco 15, Netherlands 24, New Zealand 1, Nigeria 2, Norway 229, Poland 13, Reunion 1, Russia 2, Saudi Arabia 12, Serbia & Montenegro 2, Singapore 11, Slovenia 1, South Korea 1, Spain 6, Sweden 9, Switzerland 4, Thailand 1, Trinidad & Tobago 2, Turkey 7, UAE 12, United Kingdom 55, United States 154, Uruguay 2) registered in other countries: 35 (2005)
Military branches	no regular military forces; National Police Force, Special Mobile Force, National Coast Guard (2007)	Royal Bahamaian Defense Force (naval forces) (2004)
Military expenditures - dollar figure	-	NA
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	0.3% (2006 est.)	NA
National holiday	Independence Day, 12 March (1968)	Independence Day, 10 July (1973)
Nationality	noun: Mauritian(s) adjective: Mauritian	noun: Bahamian(s) adjective: Bahamian
Natural hazards	cyclones (November to April); almost completely surrounded by reefs that may pose maritime hazards	hurricanes and other tropical storms cause extensive flood and wind damage
Natural resources	arable land, fish	salt, aragonite, timber, arable land
Net migration rate	-0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)	-2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Political parties and leaders	Alliance Sociale or AS; Hizbullah [Cehl Mohamed FAKEEMEEAH]; Mauritian Labor Party or MLP [Navinchandra RAMGOOLAM]; Mauritian Militant Movement or MMM [Paul BERENGER] (in coalition with MSM); Mauritian Social Democrat Party or PMSD [Charles Xavier-Luc DUVAL]; Militant Socialist Movement or MSM (the governing party) [Pravind JUGNAUTH]; Rodrigues Movement or MR [Joseph (Nicholas) Von MALLY]; Rodrigues Peoples Organization or OPR [Serge CLAIR]	Free National Movement or FNM [Tommy TURNQUEST]; Progressive Liberal Party or PLP [Perry CHRISTIE]
Political pressure groups and leaders	various labor unions	NA
Population	1,250,882 (July 2007 est.)	301,790 note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	10% (2001 est.)	NA
Population growth rate	0.798% (2007 est.)	0.67% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	-	Freeport, Nassau, South Riding Point
Radio broadcast stations	AM 4, FM 9, shortwave 0 (2001)	AM 3, FM 5, shortwave 0 (2004)
Religions	Hindu 48%, Roman Catholic 23.6%, Muslim 16.6%, other Christian 8.6%, other 2.5%, unspecified 0.3%, none 0.4% (2000 census)	Baptist 35.4%, Anglican 15.1%, Roman Catholic 13.5%, Pentecostal 8.1%, Church of God 4.8%, Methodist 4.2%, other Christian 15.2%, none or unspecified 2.9%, other 0.8% (2000 census)
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.011 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.997 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.639 male(s)/female total population: 0.971 male(s)/female (2007 est.)	at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Suffrage	18 years of age; universal	18 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: small system with good service domestic: primarily microwave radio relay trunk system international: country code - 230; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); new microwave link to Reunion; HF radiotelephone links to several countries; fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia	general assessment: modern facilities domestic: totally automatic system; highly developed international: country code - 1-242; tropospheric scatter and submarine cable to Florida; 3 coaxial submarine cables; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (1997)
Telephones - main lines in use	357,300 (2006)	131,700 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	772,400 (2006)	121,800 (2002)
Television broadcast stations	2 (plus several repeaters) (1997)	2 (2004)
Terrain	small coastal plain rising to discontinuous mountains encircling central plateau	long, flat coral formations with some low rounded hills
Total fertility rate	1.94 children born/woman (2007 est.)	2.2 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	9.4% (2006 est.)	10.2% (2004 est.)

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